Barbed-wire chain for fences



(No Model.)

J. J. BENSON.

BARBED WIRE CHAIN EUR FENGES.

linrrnn @rares Partnr Ormes.

JOHN J. BENSON, OF TROY, NEW' YORK.

BARDf-WIRE CHAIN FOR FENCES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 391,502l dated October23, 1889.

Application filed August 2T, 1888. Serial No. Q3.S77. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN J. BENSON, a citizen of the United States,residingin the city of Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State ofNew York, have invented a new and useful Barbed-Wire Chain for Fences,of which the following is a specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings.

The general obj ect oi' my invention is to produce a very effective,strong, durable, and cheaply manufactured barbed wire fencechain, which,when properly mounted in a fence, shall be greatly wider vertically thanhorizontally and furnish a conspicuous guard, and shall be nearly rigidin the plane of its greatest width or vertically, and easily iiexibleonly in the plane of its narrowest width or horizontally, and shall havebarbs project out laterally from the two opposite widest sides of thechain. I attain this object by the constructions illustrated in theaforesaid drawings, in which- Figure lis an elevation of one side, andFig. 2 a plan, of a portion of a barbediwire fencechain embodying oneform of my invention. Fig. 3 is an 'end elevation and cross-section ofthe same at the line .e a in Figs. l and 2 and viewed in the directionpointed by the arrow y. Fig. lis an elevation of the other side of aportion of a chain similar to that shown by Figs. l, 2, and 8, and Fig.5 is a plan of the same. Fig. 6 is a side elevation, and Fig. 7 a plan,of a portion of a barbed-wire fence-chain embodying a modification of myinvention, and Fig. 8 is an end elevation and section of the same at theline ac x in Figs. 6 and 7 and viewed in the direction of the arrow w.

Like letters refer to similar parts in the several views.

Each of the links in my aforesaid barbed wire fence-chain consists of asingle section of wire bent to forma pivot-bar, as a, at and across oneend ofthe link, and two lengthwise rods, as b b', extending from theends of said pivot-bar and widely apart fr0m each other directly to theother end of the link, two spirais, as c c', extending inward towardeach other from the forward ends of said lengthwise rods and surroundingthe like pivot-bar a of 5o the next link, and twobarbs, as d d',projecting outwardly from the inner ends of said spirals and laterallyon the two opposite widest sides of the link, essentially as indicatedin the aforesaid drawings. By having the links thus constructedandconnected by liinge-joints,eonsist ing of the pivot-bars a andsocket-spirals cc', having the barbs d d', the `chain is nearly or quiterigid atitsjointsin the plane ggf the pivotbars orgreatest width of thelinks and is t1eXible at the joints only in the planes at or nearly atright angles to the planes of the pivot-bars, so that the chain can befreely wound on a roll or reel for convenient handling andtransportation, and so that when thechain is secured to uprightfence-posts with the pivot-bars a, and greatest width of the linksvertical, or nearly so, the chain is a conspicuous guard, as indicatedby Figs. l, 4, and 6, and is nearly or quite inflexible in the verticaldirection in which the gravity or weight of the chain tends to sag itdown. At the same time the chain is very wide vertically and is iiexiblelaterally or horizontally, and has at the middle parts of every jointtwo barbs projecting laterally on opposite sides ofthe chain, so as topresent gentle but effective warning and resistance to cattle coming incontact with either of its two upright or widest sides.

In making this barbed-wire fencechain from suitable wire sections anysuitable method can be practiced-21s, for instance, by bending one ofthe wire sections so as to form the bar a and lengthwise parts b b', asindicated in the lefthand end portions of Figs. l and G-before or afterceiling the end parts ofthe wire section to make the socket spirals c cwith barbs d d', as indicated in the righthnnd end parts of Figs. 1,2,4t, 5, 6, 7. Then into the two adjacent spirals thus made insert to itsmiddle another wire section and coil its end parts to make the twospirals with barbs and bend it to forni the end bar and lengthwise rods,and then insert into the adjacent spirals last made anothersection-wire, and bend and coil it; as above stated, and so onrepeatedly.

In carrying out my invention the spirals c 0 of each link can be coiledin opposite directions or in the same direction, as illust-rated by thedrawings. Fach spiral may have any suitable number of coils which shallprevent roo it from being unwound by the strains to which thefence-chain shall besub]l ect in use. I commonly prefer to have in eachspiral at least two or three complete coils, substantially as 5 shown inthe drawings.

I claim as my invention- A barbed-wire fence-chain in which each linkconsists of a single section of wire bent to form a pivot-bar at one endof the link and xo two rods extending from the ends of the pivotbarandwidelyapartfrom each otherto the other end of the link, two spiralsextending inward toward each other from the forward ends of said rodsand surrou riding the pivot-bar of the next link7 and two barbsprojecting from the i5 inner ends of said spirals and laterally on thetwo opposite widest sides of the link, substantially as set forthn Intestimony whereof I hereunto set my my hand, in the presence of twosubscribing zo witnesses, this 24th day of August, 1888.

JOI-IN J. BENSON.

W'itnesses:

ARTHUR THORNE, HARRY M. HULsAPPLE.

